Very early smoke detection apparatuses use aspirating smoke detection to sense small amounts of smoke in an environment, typically far smaller amounts than can be noticed visually. Such very early smoke detection is useful in a variety of situations, especially where the environment is isolated, large, and/or contains high value assets. For example, very early smoke detection may be useful during the manufacture of large, complex apparatuses like aerospace vehicles. During manufacturing of aerospace vehicles, including during construction, repair, maintenance, retrofitting, and/or interior finishing, a very early smoke detection apparatus may be temporarily installed in the (at least partially assembled) aerospace vehicle.
Very early detection of nascent fires allows for the elimination of the hazard before significant injury and/or property damage. Very early smoke detection apparatuses detect smoke, and potentially other hazard indicators, by sampling the air in an environment. A very early smoke detection apparatus draws air from a range of sampling sites, optionally filters the air, and then, for smoke detection, measures remaining particulates by light scattering in a central monitoring device.
A very early smoke detection system includes a monitoring device and tubing (e.g., piping, conduit, ducting, and/or hose) distributed about the area to be protected. The tubing typically includes a series of sampling inlets that are configured to draw air from the local environment through the tubing to the monitoring device.
In an aerospace vehicle, the tubing, typically including flexible hose, may be distributed within the interior of the vehicle, with the tubing coupled to the vehicle interior with tube hangers. Conventional tube hangers typically are relatively bulky and complex. The bulk restricts placement of the tube hanger near corners, tight spaces, or other locations with low clearance. The complexity results in high cost of manufacture of the part and difficulty of operation (e.g., installation and removal). Conventional tube hangers include two parts that must be assembled by the user: (1) a base element with spring loaded jaws that clamp to an interior rail and (2) a breakaway hook that is configured to clamp a tube and to hook to the base element.
Hence, there is a need for tube hangers that may be placed throughout an aerospace vehicle interior and that are simple to manufacture and operate.